Its ramadan tomorrow, the month which muslims fast from dawn to dusk, & I brought a fanooos (lantern) with me from Egypt - my very first one- to get the atmosphere going. Tradionally in Egypt, these are handcrafteda by local tradesmen and bought by grandparents, parents and such and given to the little kids, who then sing songs (a bit like caroling) as well as hung outside the homes and in the streets (like christmas lights).

Since I never experienced ramadan in Egypt I never got to have a fanoos but always wanted one and sooooo here is mine. Its a relatively cheap one thats not intricate at all, tho I absoultely refused to get a cheap chinese made one which are now dominating the market.......my dad and I hung it up outside our house tonight and I thought I'd share, ...its nothing special but the kid in me loves it :D Its actually gold coloured and the customs guy tapped it to make sure it wasnt the real thing :laughing:

40974

Frenchy

August 31st, 2008, 10:09 PM

It's like a disco ball but with a meaning :crazy:

It's lovely onster , will you do the fasting ? :eek:

onster

August 31st, 2008, 10:13 PM

Yep, always do :D...well since I was 13 or so...

its a bit hard now though with sunset being soooo late...ack..

we wake up right before dawn though and have an early breakfast :thumbs up

hehehe I suppose it does look a bit like a disco ball, lol. I wish I couldve gotten a cooler one though..or a bigger one..hahaha im sooo greedy. This one the design is just punched into the sheet metal...there are ones that are hand carved or whatever and are sooo intricate with many different coloured glass and patterns...next year :D

Frenchy

August 31st, 2008, 10:23 PM

So is it a light or a candle inside ? ( I love those lanterns where you put candles in it :cloud9:)

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 10:24 PM

Happy Ramadan Onster!

Enjoy all the yummies. Forget eating healthy for a month!

onster

August 31st, 2008, 10:30 PM

So is it a light or a candle inside ? ( I love those lanterns where you put candles in it :cloud9:)

originally its supposed to be with a candle and this one I actually got with nothing in it cuz the wattage is different and then I went to home depot and got the lamp wire stuff and put a bulb. Could have easily put a candle too though :thumbs up

lol.....but but but byrdddd...hahaha..i cant resist. My mom is boiling the karkade (sweet hibiscus tea ) as we speak and defrosting the chicken and pulling out the sambosa/samosa sheets/ taking votes on whether it will be bamia or bissila (peas) for the vegetable dish :rolleyes:

kinda defeats the purpose :o..were supposed to feel for the poor and needy among other things...but ramadan is also the time where everyone and their uncle is welcome to have 'breakfast' with us, so that food reaally has to stretch out, lol. Also boy do I feel for those strapped to find food by the end of the day....well more so the water...that's what gets to me to be honest.

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 10:34 PM

mmm karkade! I still have some hibiscus from one of my trips, I need to make some.

If you make f'teer guarentee I'll be there.

I can't find a pic, or remember the name, but there is a type of lamp that I like, I saw one while there but didn't have the space to bring it back. It is tall and thin, but twists, is made of iron and cloth. Do you know what I'm referring to?

Frenchy

August 31st, 2008, 10:35 PM

So your mom has to get up in the middle of the night to "cook" "breakfast" ? :eek:

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 10:37 PM

Muslim life is usually a night life during Ramadan.

onster

August 31st, 2008, 10:40 PM

frenchy nono umm well ok before dawn we eat "suhoor" which is what keeps us going thruout the day. Usually includes dates (jam packed full of sugar and energy), a sandwhich or something...maybe some foul (beans, stay in ure stomache a while)...nothing hard...

but iftar, which means "breakfast" is after sunset. Thats when the real yummies come out :D

byrd I never actually tried those karkade tea bags..are they good? do u drink them warm? My mom boils the petals and then adds copious amounts of sugar, pours into jugs and there they sit in the fridge,....sooo good :D

hahaha there wont be fteer tomorrow but there will be fteeer someday, that I assure u :D

hmmm to be honest Im not really sure know what ure talkign about..I mean I think I do but not 100% sure. I know wht u mean tho about not having space ...there are things I bought (actually 3 other lantern things with candle holders inside) from khan el khalili that I actually had to leave in the appartment for lack of space :sad: Seriously for the amount we pay for a ticket they could be a litttle less stingy with the weight requirements..lol I was willing to lose a few pounds if it meant I could take more stuff with me!!!

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 10:44 PM

I don't use the tea bags, I have actual dried hibiscus. But Tazo makes a good tea called Passion which is close to the same. Either hot or cold it's good.

I will have to ask Mohab if he remembers the lamp.

onster

August 31st, 2008, 10:47 PM

Muslim life is usually a night life during Ramadan.

welllllll its how its worked out to be now but its not how it should be...not really anyway. My family actually doesnt stay up, after the prayers we pretty much go to bed. In egypt though thats another story..im sure if we had all the action going on here that goes on there we would stay up too! temptation :evil:

during the day my mom reads quran, cooks for the local mosque so that those less fortunate can break their fast, as well as uni students who at this time of year really miss "home cooking"....and u get together with family and friends. There are a lot of great series on tv during this time and we usually are bad and cant resist and hunker down to watch a few after breaking the fast :o

Its also tradition to read through all the Quran during ramadan, so everyone tries to read a few chapters a day.

As for me, what with school work and my new job and other responsiblities its pretty much life as usual. But I do try to get my quran :thumbs up and series in :laughing::D I also usually go serve breakfast at the mosque/help my mom cook when I have the time (ie im not drowning in uni stuff :cry:).

onster

August 31st, 2008, 10:49 PM

I don't use the tea bags, I have actual dried hibiscus. But Tazo makes a good tea called Passion which is close to the same. Either hot or cold it's good.

I will have to ask Mohab if he remembers the lamp.

oooh ok then u use the same stuff we use! lol the first time I saw an acutal hibiscus plant was a few weeks back when clm posted pics...somehow I thought the flowers would look different :shrug::rolleyes:

im curious about the lamp now...if he knows what its called let me know!

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 11:00 PM

oooh ok then u use the same stuff we use! lol the first time I saw an acutal hibiscus plant was a few weeks back when clm posted pics...somehow I thought the flowers would look different :shrug::rolleyes:

im curious about the lamp now...if he knows what its called let me know!

Really, you'd never seen a real hibiscus? They're so pretty.

I think I found it, or something similar at least. A Moroccan Henna Lamp. The one I wanted to get was taller and twisted though.

onster

August 31st, 2008, 11:03 PM

OOOOhh

hahaha yes I know it. Did u see them for sale at Dahab?

My bro in Sharm has got one in his appart in Sharm ( A tall twisted one thats tan coloured), he said sil liked it when she saw it in Dahab and they bought it there...I didnt really see them in Cairo/pay attentiont oo much but it looked really cool in their place!

*maybe I did see hibiscus but I never realised thats what it was??...dunno*

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 11:17 PM

Well, originally Mohab showed me a picture of one, but now I can't find the picture. But I saw one for sale in a furniture store in Alexandria. Next time I go back I'm definitely getting one.

holy crap look at those prices!!!:eek: ( well not really expensive if ure thinking what ud find in a store here..but expensive in egyptian for sure)

My brother's is more like the first one but way longer & with more a curve. He has it on the one side of his sofa...really works out like an art piece.

Alex eh? cool...i just assumed Dahab since I know u went there :o U know it might actually be cheaper for u to get it there tho, especially if its made by the bedouins..

Byrd

August 31st, 2008, 11:43 PM

Oh yeah, I would definitely get it there, it was very cheap, and that was in a furniture store. It would likely be even cheaper in Dahab, I can see why your brother got it there.

I like the star lanterns too.

krdahmer

September 1st, 2008, 01:17 AM

Happy Ramadan Onster!

I have a question though, how does your mom do with the fasting? I remember somewhere you saying that she has diabetes I think, that would be hard then to fast and keep your sugars ok? And the not having water would be really hard for a diabetic! (I drink liters a day.)

Brandykins

September 1st, 2008, 08:14 AM

Happy Ramadan, Onster. It is fascinating hearing about other customs. That is a lovely Fanoos.

Hope you and yours will all have a lovely Ramadan.

Take care.

Sylvie

September 1st, 2008, 08:33 AM

Happy Ramada, Onster.

I too, find it fascinating to here about others customs.

onster

September 1st, 2008, 09:38 AM

Happy Ramadan Onster!

I have a question though, how does your mom do with the fasting? I remember somewhere you saying that she has diabetes I think, that would be hard then to fast and keep your sugars ok? And the not having water would be really hard for a diabetic! (I drink liters a day.)

Thanks Krdhamer!

Actually if you are sick, pregnant, have ure preriod, need to take meds or anything liek that ure supposed to NOT to fast. However for years my mom just couldnt bear not to and fasted anyway. This year though, as she's on insulin, she has finally agreed not to.

Happy Ramadan, Onster. It is fascinating hearing about other customs. That is a lovely Fanoos.

Hope you and yours will all have a lovely Ramadan.

Take care.

Thanks Brandykins!:goodvibes:
Happy Ramada, Onster.

I too, find it fascinating to here about others customs.

Thanks :D Me too actually, about the other customs...Ive always taken world religions and things like that at school and uni :thumbs up

onster

September 1st, 2008, 12:31 PM

For those interested in the history of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjmxfA90spk

And a very old song, "ramadan gana" "ramadan has come" set to pictures in Egypt. Sorry about the bad audio.

There are pictures of people serving/buying/making the traditional food in ramadan as well as a lot of lanterns you can buy. Also the huge ramadan tents set up to feed the less fortunate..

Here is a more detailed explanation of the shots in the video:

Starts off with some fanoos pics and pics of the street..then people buying dates (traditional to break ure fast with them).
The guy in the fez is serving sugar can juice or Ir' soos (licorcise I think?)..u can get this anytime not just ramadan. The picture after that the guy is making the stuff you need to make konafa, a traditional sweet made of thin, thread like strands of dough. The guy with the big ladle in the biiiig silver pot...that would be foul (fava beans), a staple of the egyptian diet. The canon is cuz at sunset the fire the canon...then is the ramadan tents...After that is the sweet called Atayef (cresent shaped dough filled with special cheese, deep fried and dunked in sugar syrup, toughed with pistachio...MMMM) and then the konafa...then theres prayer shots and reading Quran,,...During ramadan there are speical prayers called "taraweeh" in Egypt the amount of people praying is soooo huge that they end up filling the streets praying as there is no room in the mosques (and trust me we have a LOT of mosques)

BAsically it is a good sumary of what Ramadan is About. Prayer, generosity, charity, good fun, traditions & family. :thumbs up

Byrd

September 1st, 2008, 12:55 PM

I really love the generosity part, in Egypt it seems the houses are open for anyone to stop by to eat, lots of friends and family time. Better than Christmas! LOL

I was in Egypt for the last two days of Eid (the feasting at the end of Ramadan) last year, that was wonderful!